Union Jack in Ireland? **Mod Note In Post #59**

tinytobe

Just wondering, is it forbidden by law to fly the Union Jack in Ireland?

And if it's not forbidden would one be beaten up about it if he or she was flying the Union Jack somewhere?

Allinall

No, and no.

con747

Just have a fire extinguisher close to hand when you sleep.

Gregor Samsa

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058335479/union-jack-in-ireland

A company I worked for had an annual inter-office 7 a side soccer tournament years ago. Big social occasion, and we'd all be flown over to the UK or Germany for it and a party after. One year, it was held in Shannon (where our office was). The astroturf pitches are on the grounds of the local GAA club (Wolfe Tones). They also have a bar there.

All the people from the various offices had their national flags, including the crowd from the UK. Next thing this guy comes barreling out of the bar, clearly the worst for wear, roaring and shouting about Brits and butchers aprons what he'd do to them. The manager of the bar then comes out and asks us to put away the Union flags, but the Irish, German, Luxembourg and Swedish ones could stay flying - turns out there was an after-funeral reception in the bar, and the attendees (many Shannon natives are originally from Northern Ireland) took great exception to the flags.

endacl

Flegs

tinytobe

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121747669#Comment_121747669

Interesting situation. I didn't know it was that way.

I only noted that the British Embassy in Dublin seems to be the only Embassy of the countries in Europe not having a flag at their Embassy. Spain has one, the Netherlands as well. There seems to be a flagpole in the grounds of the British Embassy, I think actually two of them, but there is no flag flying there.

I don't think that the German flag has the same negativity to it, in countries like France, Poland or Austria, given Germany's WW2 history, than the Union Jack in Ireland.

Del2005

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121748691#Comment_121748691

WW2 was the Nazi flag and only 6 years. We've over 800 years and it was people originally from Northern Ireland who had the issue.

Most people in Ireland couldn't care less if you fly the Union Jack.

XsApollo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121747669#Comment_121747669

Shannon is a special case alright, as a massive amount of people from the north came to Shannon back in 70’s.

might not be so bad now , but knowing that pub well and the said location of pub, flying a Union Jack there if it was 10, 20 years ago they probably got off lightly.

actually if a Union Jack was flying there now I’m sure people would still take an exception to it :-D

pgj2015

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121748716#Comment_121748716

im not so sure about that.

There were villages and towns burned to the ground in the republic, innocent people murdered and raped by British thugs and psychopaths for hundreds of years, that flag is hated by lots still in the south and if not hated it is disliked and id say the majority of people wouldn't want to see it flown in the republic.

SouthWesterly

And yet these people probably follow man united, Liverpool and the rest. Perspective is needed.

mattser

3,2,1.......

Jim2007

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058335479/union-jack-in-ireland

Of course not, but then flying flags in the garden is not a thing in either country, so no matter what flag you fly, you'll probably create a certain negative perception among the locals.

FrancieBrady

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121747669#Comment_121747669

Similar to waving the Russian flag around a gathering of displaced Ukrainians.

All flags even our own tricolour can cause an emotional reaction (that is their intention after all) and some times the wrong emotional reaction particularly if flown to taunt.

Certainly not as bad here as it used to be but still very contentious in the north.

I'd personally have a moratorium on flying any flags. Unworkable maybe but I don't have any grá for flag worship TBH

@tinytobe it is not the Union Jack technically, it is only called the UJ when flown on a ship.

FrancieBrady

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121748927#Comment_121748927

Such a stupid lazy point this. ^^

So what?

You don't give allegiance to a country or government just because you follow a sports team.

**😁 I see my stalker is up early this morning earning his corn.

Francis McM

It generally wouldn't be a problem in England if somebody had an Irish flag on display, they are mostly a tolerant lot.

Here In Ireland if a Union Jack was flown Some people would be peeved, others indifferent. I'd be indifferent.

pgj2015

If I saw a union jack flag flying in some British guys garden in Ireland, I would think he was trying to cause offence and also I would think if Britain is so great why don't you fcuk off back over there? or is the social welfare too good in Ireland? lets face it a lot of their unemployed move here to get better social welfare payments, a great addition to the Country. 🙄

Francis McM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121749809#Comment_121749809

And many over there for many decades thought our unemployed used to go over there to better themselves. They were not wrong.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121749809#Comment_121749809

that’s an interesting train of thought to have.

Would you feel the same way about visiting the UK wearing an Ireland jersey for instance or indeed an Englishman living here wearing one?

StevenToast

Theres a fùck ton of Union Jacks flying in Ireland. All up in the 6 counties.

Ireland has 32 counties.

I think the OP is talking about the Republic of Ireland.

Witcher

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121748957#Comment_121748957

' it is not the Union Jack technically, it is only called the UJ when flown on a ship'

A commonly repeated myth.

https://www.flaginstitute.org/wp/uk-flags/the-union-jack-or-the-union-flag/

gormdubhgorm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121748927#Comment_121748927

Exactly, clowns really, their whole sense of Irishness is a cartoon type of republicanism. Putting the "pub" in republican. All front and image. A very narrow knowledge of history and hard to take seriously.

FrancieBrady

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121749918#Comment_121749918

Fair enough

gormdubhgorm

Anyone who is worried about a Union Jack flying in Ireland, has a real inferiority complex in my view.

Most of the Republic has grown out of that and has far more confidence in themselves. It is the Republic's insecure neighbours who spend their days worrying about this type of thing - on both sides.

Capt'n Midnight

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121749899#Comment_121749899

ARTICLE 4 : The name of the State is Éire, or, in the English language, Ireland.

Francis McM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121750071#Comment_121750071

And we are a Republic. And the island is geographically called Ireland.

spakman

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121748960#Comment_121748960

whatever way you justify to yourself, but supporting a foreign team and then ranting and raving against that nations team is completely hypocritical

FrancieBrady

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121750150#Comment_121750150

Why? A professional team made up of many nationalities is not the same as a national team and requires no allegiance to a country.

You could support PSG or Juventus or Bayern Munich and still be vehemently anti the national teams.

My son for instance loves Barcelona, has been to see them several times but hates the Spanish team.

Only a certain type of lazy Irish person rails about Irish people doing it against England though. Boring as….

SouthWesterly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121748960#Comment_121748960

Nothing lazy about it. It's absolute fact.

The same people who moan about British dominance in Ireland have no issue going over to Anfield and waiting patiently while "God save the King" is sung .

Absolute hypocrisy.

nachouser

Just imagine if the lad flying the flag was also wearing a poppy? Jaysus.

FrancieBrady

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121750359#Comment_121750359

Why would they? They have issue with the British government not the people nor their football teams.

I love American movies and literature and the physical country but would be vehemently opposed to American foreign policy in a lot of instances. Does that make me hypocritical?

The added complexity here is what the British government is doing and has done. Nobody holds their fecking football teams responsible for that.

Gregor Samsa

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121748691#Comment_121748691

Not sure what the UK Embassy's flag protocol is.

If you look at Google Street View, the latest images (May 2023) show the flag isn't flying. However, the December 2022 ones show the Union Flag flying beside the Ukrainian one. All the ones older than that show the Union Flag flying on one of the flagpoles, going back to 2009.

So I'm not sure what happened between December 2022 and May 2023.

Edit: Actually here's the protocol:

My Lords, our embassies are required to fly the Union flag— in fact, it is the diplomatic flag, which is the Union flag with the Royal Arms in the centre surrounded by a green garland— on all working days during office hours. 

(https://hansard.parliament.uk/lords/2000-02-23/debates/79e866a7-fbad-42a7-ba41-85f068707d1d/UkEmbassiesUnionFlagFlying)

So it's possible the May 2023 images were taken on a weekend or out of office hours, when the flag would not be flying. But I don't live locally to the embassy to check whether it does indeed fly during the week days.

The Apple Maps street view image is from May 2023, and it shows the Union Flag flying. Unless you have some independent confirmation that the embassy has stopped flying the flag, I'm going to assume that your claim is based on the one Google Street view image from 2023, and that it was taken out of office hours when the flag wouldn't be flying, as per protocol.